Settlement reached in Monterey County general plan lawsuit

A settlement of a property owners' lawsuit challenging Monterey County's general plan over a water-supply policy will require the county to do a five-year study to determine if the Salinas Valley Water Project is performing as billed.

The settlement was announced this week by the county Board of Supervisors in a suit that challenged a general plan policy requiring property owners to prove long-term, sustainable water supplies for certain kinds of development.

The policy was challenged by the Salinas Valley Water Coalition, Monterey County Farm Bureau and other taxpayer and building-trade groups. They received financial help from the Monterey County Association of Realtors.

They contended the proof-of-water policy shouldn't apply to property owners in the Salinas Valley who have been paying assessments to finance the Salinas Valley Water Project.

They claimed the project — a seasonal diversion dam on the Salinas River near Marina and spillway modifications at Nacimiento Dam — was billed as a way to assure their water supply through 2030. The project was intended to halt saltwater intrusion and protect the Salinas Valley water basin.

"Our argument was why would we have to prove it. We are paying for it," said Nancy Isakson, president of the Salinas Valley Water Coalition.

The 2010 general plan policy requires water proof on any project requiring a discretionary permit — such as a subdivision or a major agricultural facility. But the county is still working on an ordinance to define the requirement.

"There was a lot of debate over what that is" in general plan deliberations, said Leslie Girard, assistant county counsel.

The environmental impact report for the general plan also said there would be long-term water in the Salinas Valley, Girard said.

In settling the suit, the county struck a compromise with property owners in the Salinas Valley Water Project assessment district, which is called Zone 2C. The zone contains the heart of the Salinas Valley.

Under the settlement, the county by the end of this year will commence a five-year study on how the Salinas Valley Water Project is working.

During that period, property owners in Zone 2C applying for discretionary permits for projects would have a "rebuttable presumption of long-term water supply," Girard said.

That means they wouldn't have to prove their future water supply under the general plan policy, but opponents to a project could challenge on water-supply grounds.

If the study shows the project isn't working — saltwater intrusion is advancing, or water tables aren't stabilizing — the presumption would go away, Girard said. It could be extended through 2030 — the outside boundary for the general plan — if the study shows the water project is working, he said.

The settlement obligates the county to begin processing the necessary amendments to the general plan to carry out the deal within 45 days.

The settlement also calls for the county to pay $200,000 for the groups' attorney fees and costs.

The suit is among four that challenged the general plan, which was adopted after more than a decade of debate.

Two other suits, filed by LandWatch Monterey County and The Open Monterey Project, contend the plan is flawed for a number of reasons, from water supply and slope protection to open space and winery corridor rules. Another suit filed by the Carmel Valley Association challenges the plan's method for determining traffic congestion.

The other three suits are pending.

"We have been having discussions, and that is all I am going to say," Girard said.